When telling the history of plutonium, tell the full story — including the atrocities | Opinion

Tell the whole story of plutonium’s use

Our entire region should be extremely proud of the B Reactor. A massive edifice, built in a year, under tight security. The B Reactor is an underutilized worldwide tourist attraction. Visitors leave with a sense of awe and a better appreciation for what we accomplished there.

Tours should also offer a stop at our Reach Museum, the subject of this letter.

I am saddened by the Reach Museum’s complete lack of pictures, or any discussions, of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the unimaginable pain and devastation of Japan.

Not one word.

Not one picture.

Nowhere.

Being proud of the B Reactor, and its place in history, does not also equate to an endorsement of how its plutonium was used in history’s worst instant massacre of innocent people.

Setting this controversy aside, the take-home lesson we all want our children to learn is that nuclear weapons are bad, too horrible, to ever use. Never again.

This existential lesson requires not candy-coating the consequences when atomic bombs are dropped.

Do we want our museum visitors to experience a monument of the complete denial of the death and devastation America caused?

Or will we find the courage to tell the Japanese part of the Hanford story?

Michael Harrington, Pasco

Project 2025 is an authoritarian plot

Adding to Joyce Scherpelz’ letter of June 2, Project 2025, launched in 2022 under the leadership of the Heritage Foundation, is a plan to execute a comprehensive authoritarian takeover of the American government.

It envisions a vast expansion of presidential power over the executive branch while dismantling certain parts of government. It promises to purge from government anyone who is not all in on the Trumpist project and replace them with loyalists and ideological conformists.

There will be a far-reaching effort to punish and purge “woke” enemies and impose a reactionary white Christian patriarchal order on American society.

According to Professor Thomas Zimmer at Georgetown University:

“Project 2025 would transform America into a much nastier, much more dangerous, much more hostile place for anyone who dares to deviate from what the Right deems the ‘natural’ order. In a very real sense, that’s what’s on the ballot in November. The election isn’t really about Biden vs. Trump; it’s a referendum on whether the effort to finally realize the promise of a truly democratic, pluralistic, multiracial society should be continued or abolished altogether. Those are the stakes.”

I call on the Tri-City Herald to report more about Project 2025.

Thomas C. Staly, Kennewick

Age-ism doesn’t make witticism

Of the many types of -isms, it’s fair to hope elected officials try to avoid them-isms. Except for patriotism. And, maybe witticism. So it was unpleasant to hear Benton Commissioner McKay’s description of his older colleague’s looking for glasses at a regular, open board meeting:

“Okay, Old Man.”

I had heard McKay only days before get all choked up at the town hall regarding the Finley fire. “I live there,” McKay tearfully, brokenly gasped. May he also live long enough to acquire the sensitive wisdom, that age-ism is neither witty nor respectful to a more learned colleague. Or as Freud observed, “There’s no such thing as a joke.”

Jack Howard, 64, Richland

Here’s the real travesty of justice

According to his followers, President Trump is again a victim of a “travesty of justice” after a Manhattan jury found him guilty of falsifying business records tied to the hush money paid to a porn star, resulting in his conviction of 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Previously, he escaped impeachment twice: for his interference in the investigation of his collusion with the Russian government to dig up dirt on his rival’s campaign for president, and for asking the Ukraine government to open an investigation on his presidential rival prior to his re-election attempt, implying a U.S. arms shipment might be delayed otherwise.

He is also indicted for worse crimes, including his attempt to persuade Georgia election officials to recalculate the state’s vote in his favor, his mishandling of classified and secret government documents, his involvement in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election by party officials casting fake electoral votes for his re-election, and his incitement to riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Yet, many people continue to kowtow to Trump, no matter what lies he tells or laws he breaks. Save our democracy. Vote against him and his criminal co-conspirators.

Bill Petrie, Richland

Syphilis on rise in bicounty area

Syphilis is on the rise at an alarming rate in this community. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Franklin County has an average of 38.6 infections per 100,000 and Benton County has an average of 28.9. This is worse than the national average of syphilis infections, which is 17.7 per 100,000 people.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that is caused by a bacterium, and it can be prevented and treated. If the infection remains untreated it can progress and affect the nervous, visual, auditory and balance systems. It is important to educate our communities on the rise of syphilis infections and what they can do to limit their exposures.

In order to combat this issue in our community, STI testing and treatment needs to be more accessible. Additionally, syphilis affects men who have sex with men most commonly and the stigma and discrimination associated with STI’s is a common barrier for seeking health care services. Health care professionals must work to be supportive and educate individuals on the standards of confidentiality in health care. Educating the community on safe sexual practices and condom use can also help to reduce the risk of contracting or spreading infections.

Heidi J. Sanchez, Pasco

Drug law changes still not adequate

The Blake Ruling showed that intent couldn’t be proven in drug cases. The two years following, very few drug cases were prosecuted in Benton County and those years were a breath of fresh air for everyone, whether drug users or not. Now the DEA and local government are again prosecuting drug cases where intent isn’t proven. According to the Supreme Court, police must get approval showing intent was satisfactorily proved, according to the courts.

The police are necessary where families are kept safe. However, they are in harm’s way now in a dangerous version of America, and families can’t live safely or even meet one another. Drug laws should end if we are to have a safer community and our president should consider that most families use drugs. Police must say more to stop spending on drug policy that is outdated and unsafe.

Eric Kalia, Richland

Safety culture is Job 1 at Hanford

As we learn more about safety-culture issues and problems with renowned companies like Boeing and others, I want to take a moment to commend SIMCO for continuing to improve the Nuclear Safety Culture at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Since the troubles of 2014 that caused a three-year shutdown of WIPP operations, the leadership has been working hard to ensure that the WIPP never allows another similar degradation in safety culture leading to another series of troubling events.

The new SIMCO team continues to set very high standards for safety as they fully embrace and share the Department of Energy’s Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS) requirements and expectations. Their building of a strong Safety Conscious Work Environment (aka SCWE) where all workers are encouraged to bring forward their safety and any other concerns with no fear of potential retaliation, should be emulated in all workplaces in our Permian Basin Region and our country!

Our local communities can rest comfortably and confidently in the safe performance of work and operations at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Bravo Zulu to SIMCO and all WIPP personnel!

John Giblin, Carlsbad, Colo.

Editor’s note: Hanford site transuranic waste has been sent to WIPP for disposal previously and shipments are expected to resume in 2028.